Welcome to this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. I initially planned on having a shorter article this week with two big features in the works for the near future, but I ended up getting access to the Hades II Technical Test and No Rest for the Wicked to play on Steam Deck in addition to the games I was already covering. On the news side, some surprisingly early Steam Deck Verified ratings for upcoming titles, notable new indie releases, and much more. Before the news, trailers, and recent Steam Deck Verified games, let’s get into the gameplay impressions first.
Steam Deck Game Reviews & Impressions
Hades II Technical Test Steam Deck Gameplay Impressions
Well, this was a lovely surprise wasn’t it? When Supergiant Games announced that Hades II would be seeing a technical test on Steam with players being able to request access, I was in two minds about it. I’ve been trying to stop myself from playing betas or early access games unless it is for work reasons, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to immediately jump into Hades II. I then played some Hades on my Steam Deck OLED and wanted more. I got access to the Hades II Technical Test two days ago, and have basically been playing it and another game nonstop since. Hades II so far feels absolutely sublime on Steam Deck OLED, but I’m also impressed by how much it has changed from the original while still feeling familiar. Note that everything here is based on the Hades II Technical Test version 0.89421 and should not be treated as final for the game or even the early access version coming in the future.
Hades II is Supergiant Games’ first ever sequel, and that itself was concerning initially. I adored how every game from the developer was its own thing, but going with Hades II was clearly the way to go given how it feels. When Hades was announced and released in Early Access, I didn’t really play it until much later. I got into it way too much by the end. With Hades II, I don’t need to wait for it to come to any console because it plays perfectly on Steam Deck even in this Hades II Technical Test version.
Based on the 5 hours I’ve spent with the Hades II Technical Test, I love the weapons, Melinoë (the immortal Princess of the Underworld), the new gorgeous locations, enemies, boons, and other gameplay systems included. The team definitely didn’t just release “more Hades” with this one so far. It feels enhanced and expanded upon quite a bit, and there’s more new Supergiant Games music so what’s really there to complain about? Well, my only complaint is that I don’t have the Early Access version right now, but this Hades II Technical Test is a fantastic appetizer for that.
This version of the Hades II Technical Test features screen mode (fullscreen and borderless), graphics quality options, resolution options, a v-sync toggle, display selection, graphics device selection, and some accessibility options. These include aim assist, god mode (seems to work like in Hades), subtitles, music subtitles, autofire, mono sound, bright cursor, and screen shake toggles.
I’ll save more of my thoughts for the Hades II Early Access launch when I get to play that, but even in this small sliver of the full experience, Hades II is immediately amazing, and it feels like it was made for the Steam Deck OLED with its rock solid performance and stunning visuals on the display. If you’d like to sign up for the Hades II Technical Test, request access here.
Millennia Steam Deck Impressions
Millennia from C Prompt Games and Paradox Interactive was on my radar until I completely forgot it was coming out soon. I’m always up for new turn-based 4X games, and after a few hours with Millennia, it has a lot of potential, but needs some work. I’m not doing a full review of Millennia yet because it isn’t currently designed to work with Steam Deck according to Paradox Interactive, and has some UI-related quirks right now.
A new Paradox Interactive release is always interesting, but Millennia might as well have been an early access launch. I don’t mean this in terms of content, but in overall polish even taking into account how it feels on a bigger screen. As a huge fan of the recent Civilization games and expansions, I was hoping Millennia would be different, and it is. The problem with it is that all the bits I like about the mechanics and different takes on things I’m used to, feel like they need more time in the oven. After spending a few hours with it the day I got access to the retail build, I liked it enough to gift it to a friend, but I would still recommend waiting a bit for some patches before giving it a go.
Millennia on PC lets you adjust display mode, resolution (16:10 support included), graphics quality, and cloud quality. I saw no other graphics options included. Millennia lacks controller support which is expected, but not being able to rebind controls right now is surprising. I took care of this on my Steam Deck by modifying the WASD layout on my own before trying one of the community layouts for the game. If you’ve played Paradox Interactive releases on Steam Deck before, you will not struggle here (and the touchscreen helps), but the UI and font sizes are too small right now with no way to increase them.
In its current state, Millennia is very playable on Steam Deck with some caveats like the UI scaling and font size. I ended up liking the age system here and how towns/colonies are handled quite a bit, but I would recommend either trying it within the Steam refund window or waiting for updates. I hope these issues can be addressed in future patches because Millennia has loads of potential and feels like a good base release despite the issues.
No Rest for the Wicked Steam Deck Impressions
Moon Studios who released the excellent Ori games on PC and consoles are back with a brand-new action-RPG in No Rest for the Wicked. No Rest for the Wicked just hit Steam Early Access a day ago, and I was quite excited to play it and see how it runs on Steam Deck. I haven’t played more than a few hours, so treat this as my very early impressions on No Rest for the Wicked on Steam Deck OLED.
Right off the bat, No Rest for the Wicked is gorgeous and sounds amazing. I know this was expected after the Ori games, but it truly feels like a giant step above. I do not recommend buying it to play just on Steam Deck though at least right now. While I will be playing it more for a full early access review, No Rest for the Wicked is a bit too demanding for Steam Deck right now with a lot of hitching moving to new areas, some crashing (tried on three different Proton versions), and major cut-scene performance issues. The game itself has loads of potential and I hope to play more of it this weekend.
Right now, you can adjust display mode, resolution (with 16:10 support), toggle HDR (that works on Steam Deck OLED by the way), toggle between quality presets, render scale, resolution scaling targets, frame rate targets, and toggle v-sync. There are a few accessibility options relating to camera shake and vibration as well. The not being able to pause while playing solo is being addressed as revealed by the team’s first Steam update post following the early access launch.
A reductive way of describing No Rest for the Wicked would be an isometric action-RPG with some soulslike elements, but No Rest for the Wicked is a lot more even early on. It sometimes feels like I’m playing a gorgeous concept art painting, but in motion. I hope the performance can be improved on Steam Deck because I’ve loved playing action-RPGs on Deck lately like with Last Epoch and more Diablo IV. No Rest for the Wicked feels like a huge step forward for Moon Studios, and I look forward to digging into it more soon.
News and Trailers
There’s always a lot of news during the week, but this week’s release date announcement for Simogo and Annapurna Interactive’s non-linear puzzle adventure game Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is by far my highlight. I’ve been a fan of the developer from the early iOS days, and regardless of where their games launch, I will be there day one. This one arrives on PC and Switch on May 16th. Watch the new trailer for it below:
Sand Land from Bandai Namco Entertainment is out in around a week worldwide for PC and consoles. and the newest trailer is too funny to not write about. It features Darude’s Sandstorm in the video, and is worth watching. Stay tuned for more Sand Land coverage next week and watch the trailer below:
Capcom’s Exoprimal has gotten its fourth major free title update this week bringing in a Mega Man collaboration, Season 4, new exosuits, DLC, the custom match mode (finally) letting players group up together across platforms, and much more. I’ve enjoyed playing Exoprimal on and off over the last few weeks, but this update is definitely a reminder to get back to the super fun gameplay and play with friends on Xbox while I play on Steam Deck and PS5. Watch the new trailer below:
Xseed Games announced that the magical shop simulation from Voracious Games will be coming to consoles, but the PC version will be getting a big update alongside the console version adding in voiceovers, an endless mode, new difficulty levels, and more. Watch the trailer for the new edition and platforms below:
On April 22nd, Atlus will host a showcase dedicated to Metaphor ReFantazio featuring 30 minutes of new footage and information about the upcoming RPG from the key staff who worked on Persona 5. This will be up on the Atlus West YouTube channel. Speaking of Atlus, a new Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance video was also released showcasing some of the quality of life improvements like save anywhere. Watch it below:
G-Mode is bringing the side game released on phones back in 2006 in Japan Persona 3 アイギス THE FIRST MISSION to Steam and Switch this year. You can wishlist it here.
Paradox Interactive has delayed Prison Architect 2 from May 7th to September 3rd. This delay is to ensure the game is released as the best possible sequel without cutting corners. It has been certified for release going by the announcement on all platforms, but has still been delayed to ensure it works good even on minimum spec configurations. A livestream is set for next week with more details to be revealed on the features.
Sucker Punch and Sony’s upcoming PC port of Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut (from Nixxes) has been confirmed to feature a new PS overlay and PlayStation trophy support with account linking included. The multiplayer mode will also be cross platform.
Fate/Samurai Remnant’s newest DLC is now available on Steam, PS5, PS4, and Switch worldwide. I’ll be playing it over the weekend, but you can watch the trailer for it below. It is also included in the season pass or sold separately.
Cygames just announced that Granblue Fantasy Relink version 1.2.0 launches on April 26th (next week) and there will be a part 3 stream a day before launch detailing the update. Check out a teaser from it below:
The final bit of news is the Homeworld 3 roadmap featuring free and paid content coming post launch including challenges, artifacts, new playable factions, and more. Check it out below:
New Steam Deck Verified & Playable games for the week
The big surprise of the week is Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance getting Steam Deck Verified two months before launch. Other than that Minishoot’ Adventures that I covered last week and also Inkbound that I’m currently playing have gotten Playable ratings.
- 20 Small Mazes – Playable
- Bingle Bingle – Playable
- Content Warning – Playable
- Dead Island 2 – Playable
- Harold Halibut – Verified
- Hatsune Miku – The Planet Of Wonder And Fragments Of Wishes – Verified
- Highwater – Playable
- Inkbound – Playable
- Lightyear Frontier – Playable
- Lunar Lander Beyond – Playable
- Minishoot’ Adventures – Playable
- Phantom Fury – Verified* (Not on the store page yet, but the official Steam Deck account promoted the news (via GamingOnLinux)
- Please, Touch The Artwork 2 – Verified
- Potions: A Curious Tale – Playable
- Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance – Verified (Via TouchArcade reader Mor)
- Slice & Dice – Playable
- The Men of Yoshiwara: Ohgiya – Playable
- WOWOWOW KORONE BOX – Verified
- YIIK Nameless Psychosis – Playable
Steam Deck Game Sales & Discounts
Capcom’s Golden Week Sale is live earlier than I expected since Golden Week is still over a week away. Either way, I’ll use this to recommend Monster Hunter World: Iceborne Master Edition and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak (bundle with the base game) once again because they are excellent on Steam Deck. I also recommend Street Fighter 6 and Exoprimal on Deck if you want to try something new.
The second sale on right now of note is the FPS Fest 2024 that’s still ongoing. Check it out here.
That’s all for this week’s edition of the Steam Deck Weekly. Stay tuned for an interesting look at some grand strategy games and also something for shmup lovers on Steam Deck in the near future. As usual, you can read all our past and future Steam Deck coverage here. If you have any feedback for this feature or what else you’d like to see us do around the Steam Deck, let us know in the comments below. I hope you all have a great day, and thanks for reading.